New York City hospital testing patient for possible Ebola
In this Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007, file photo, A 43 year old Congolese patient, center, who has been confirmed to have Ebola hemorrhagic fever, following laboratory tests, is comforted by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) nurse Isabel Grovas, left, and Doctor Hilde Declerck, right, in Kampungu, Kasai Occidental province, Congo. AP/WHO, Christopher Black
NEW YORK — A New York City hospital says it’s performing Ebola tests on a patient who recently traveled to West Africa.
Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan says a male patient with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms came in Monday. The hospital says it placed him in strict isolation and he’s undergoing medical screenings.
Officials at U.S. airports are watching travelers from Africa for flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak there.
The Ebola virus causes a hemorrhagic fever that has sickened more than 1,600 people, killing nearly 900 mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. It’s spread through direct contact with bodily fluids.
A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least three Americans have been tested in the U.S. He says all three tested negative.
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